A Bite of the Big Apple: Authentic New York Food and Dishes You Must Try

A Bite of the Big Apple: Authentic New York Food and Dishes You Must Try

New York is the birthplace of many unique dishes, in part because it’s such a popular city for immigrants from around the world.

Perhaps the most recognisable of these is New York-style pizza, which traces its roots back to Italy. Enjoy it like a local and leave your knife and fork on the table, fold it in half, and eat it with your hands.

Manhattan Clam Chowder is commonly found in many fine dining restaurants across New York. It’s prepared using a tomato-based broth instead of the milk used in Boston-style chowder. Originally created by Portuguese immigrants in Coney Island, you can slurp on a soup that has a history stretching back some 100 years.

If you’re in Harlem, head to a diner and try some chicken and waffles. Created in the 1940s to respond to a demand for breakfast foods late at night, it’s a must-try when you go to New York.

Cheesecake has existed in America since Revolutionary times, but the NYC version of this dessert came about with the invention of cream cheese in the late 19th century. This meant it was possible to make it kosher, which quickly made it popular among Jewish immigrants. You can try it at restaurants such as Junior’s, which has been crafting some of the city’s best cheesecake since the 1950s.

One of the most ambitious dishes invented in New York is the Baked Alaska. It might seem impossible to make at first though, as it involves cooking ice cream in an oven. However, Delmonico’s chef Charles Ranhofer proved it to be possible in 1876, when he shielded the ice cream with a shell of meringue. There’s no better place in the city to sample the dessert than at the institution that invented it, which is still open to this day.

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